A conversation about life - mine. Like life there is no theme just my odd random thoughts.

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Temporarily Stuck

I came to a transition point in the story I'm working on. If I were putting chapters or parts to it, I'd say I came to the end of part one. I knew where I wanted to go. I know the next scenes but there were some details I wanted to get down.

Briefly, the main character is transitioning from her old life to her new life. During the first part of the story, she is traveling to her new town where she will take up a new powerful leadership role. Part of what I wanted to get in was that she was feeling overwhelmed in her new role, new position, new relationship, and so on. It is like that moment when you walk into a new job which you know is going to be great but you look at the tasks ahead and think - What the hell did I get myself into?

At the same time, the reader doesn't want to hear about the minutiae that goes into her daily life. An awareness needs to be made and I don't want it to seem like she stepped into the role and just ran with it. It makes her more believable and likeable if she struggles. Struggling is good.

Last night I was going to work on the story some more. Repeatedly I reached for the netbook to open it and type but never could bring myself to. I had essentially written myself into a scene that I wasn't sure where it was going.

I don't consider this writer's block mostly because it never lasts. I consider it a pause in the process. I knew what the scene overall was supposed to be and how it would transition to the next scene. I just wasn't sure of the details.

Last night I putzed. I worked on a couple of other things but was just tired and a bit growly. I knew I was thinking about it too much. I changed my focus and let it go. Eventually I get a solution. Either I talk it out with one of my people who listen to me ramble about writing or something just comes.

This morning in the shower, I saw the scene in my head. I saw my characters just as I had left them. I saw the scene play out in my head. My fingers itched to get to my computer. Unfortunately I couldn't immediately get it down. I was a bit grumbly about this until I realized it just kept getting more detailed and fleshed out the more I thought about it.

The scene I was stuck on is written. It has led into the next scene which will allow my characters to give some background information without it feeling like an info dump. The story just keeps coming and as it comes it just gets better. It solidifies what I've already started and leads forward to what I hope will be a great climax. I can't wait to see where it takes me.

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About Me

From poetry to novel, Eileen enjoys telling a good
story or expressing a heartfelt emotion.She’s been published in Circle Magazine, The American Tarot
Association's Quarterly Journal, What's Cooking America, Children, Churches and
Daddies, placed second in Words of Women 2010 Writing Contest, 2012 Daily
Flash, and The Deadman’s Tome.She has a
bachelor's degree in business and a second bachelor's degree in English
Professional Writing and Book Editing.On the side, she has a small editing business.In addition to her work, she loves to read,
crochet, crafting, research genealogy, and spend time with family.She has three adult daughters and has been
married to my husband for over 30 years.